There is a requirement for different coin denominations to be stored separately, in coin mechanisms which have to give change, for example in vending machines, and in coin mechanisms which have to pay out prizes, for example in gaming machines.
Devices for separating incoming coins onto different paths have generally been referred to as coin sorters and include passive types and active types. In passive coin sorters, such as window sorters, the path of the coins is provided with fixed mechanical features so designed that coins of different denominations, because of their different dimensions, will depart from the path at different points and thereafter will travel to different storage locations. As the number of different denominations to be sorted increases, it becomes more and more difficult to design passive sorters that will operate reliably, and they become undesirably large. In active coin sorters, typically, a group of independently solenoid actuated gates is provided which can be switched into different configurations to divert an incoming coin onto any one of a number of outlet paths. These also tend to become bulky as the number of coin denominations to be sorted increases, and the plurality of actuators required makes them fairly costly and increases the chance of mechanical or electrical failure.